Valparaiso and Quintero

Valparaiso
Originally uploaded by louise_parmenter.

This was my first experience of the Pacific coast. Esteban took me to a family holiday cottage overlooking the Ocean in the small coastal village of Quintero, about 30mins from Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. On arrival we went to a mirador to watch the huge waves crashing against the rocks – impressive! We walked along a coastal path until we reached a spot to watch the sun set. We spent an afternoon on a nearby beach and a day visiting Valparaiso. Valparaiso, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a seaport city founded in 1542 and built on a series of steep hills with the bay directly at the foot of these hills. On arrival in Valparaiso we met up with one of Esteban´s friends, Javier, who is lucky to be studying there, and he kindly gave us an informed tour of the town, driving us up many of its hills to show us views of the bay and to see up close the prettily coloured and densly stacked old houses. We even stopped off at Pablo Neruda`s Valparaiso home – taking in the view from there it was obvious where he got the inspiration for some of his poems!

Here are the photos


DISTANCE TRAVELED SINCE USHUAIA: 5,736KM